The Man I Loved
by ChewwyEATSyou
Summary: No doubt they'd go back to her farm and talk about me, how I messed up, how I let him go, how I lost to her and was being sour about it... songfic to Rinse by Vanessa Carlton. rated T due to more mature themes.


**The song is Rinse by Vanessa Carlton... I love this song...**

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I watched Mary sit down at the piano and try a few chords. She then looked at me and smiled. I stepped up to the microphone and glanced at the audience; nearly everyone was packed into the church. I gave Mary a nod and her hands flew over the keys, playing the opening chords of the song. As I looked back over the audience I had, I began to sing:

_"She'd do anything to sparkle in his eye.  
She would suffer, she would fight, and compromise.  
She's been wishin' on the stars that shine so bright,  
For answers to the questions that will haunt her tonight..."_

There was Gray in the front row, gazing at Mary as she played. If only the man _I _loved would gaze at me that way.

_"She must rinse this all away.  
She can't hold him this way.  
She must rinse this all away.  
She can't love him this way_..."

Ann and Cliff sat in the bench across the isle from Gray. Cliff was blushing as Ann rested her head against his shoulder and she tapped her hand with her hand in time to the music. The man I loved blushed when another woman leant her head against his shoulder. That woman wasn't me.

_"How she'd be soothed, how she'd be saved if he could see.  
She needs to be held in his arms to be free..."_

Popuri sat by herself but I knew she would be thinking of Kai, her fiance, who was away for the Spring. He would be back next month and then they would be married. After that, he would stay in Mineral Town with her forever. The man I loved wasn't to be with me forever.

_  
"But everything happens for reasons that she will never understand.  
'Til she knows that the heart of a woman will never be found in the arms of a man..."_

_My_ man anyway...

_"She must rinse this all away.  
She can't hold anybody this way.  
She must rinse this all away.  
She can't love him..."_

Elli and the Doctor sat behind Popuri. The doctor had his arm around Elli's shoulders and she was smiling happily. I knew they were together now, late at night I could hear them enjoying themselves. I remember when I had... happy times with the man I loved.

_"And if she runs away she fears she won't be followed.  
What could be the worse than leaving something behind?  
And as the depth of oceans slowly become shallow,  
It's loneliness she finds..."_

Even the older couples looked happy. My parents were holding hands, Anna and Duke looked relatively happy, Manna and Basil were sitting next to each other. And May and Stu were there sitting on the floor together, right at the front. Then I finally saw the man I loved.

_  
"If only he was mine..."  
_

There he was, sitting in one of the back rows... with _her_. She was leaning against him and he looked like the happiest man on earth. I stared at her with as must hatred as I could muster. Just as she looked at me, I began to sing softly:

_"She'd do anything to sparkle in his eye.  
She would suffer, she would fight, and compromise.  
She's been wishin' on the stars that shine so bright,  
For answers to the questions that will haunt her tonight..."_

She seemed to gather that I was singing about her. She looked away, clearly uncomfortable. He hadn't noticed anything though, he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself.

_"She must rinse him.  
She must rinse him.  
She can't rinse him.  
She can't rinse him._  
_She can't, she won't, she must rinse him.  
She can't, she won't, she must rinse him..."_

She could now see why I had chosen this song. She looked at him, she seemed to be panicking; he noticed. She said something in his ear and he looked at me. I stared back. Then they stood up and went to the church door.

_"She must rinse this all away.  
She can't hold him this way.  
She must rinse this all away .  
She can't love him this way."_

They left just as the song finished. The people in the church broke into applause. Several of them stood up and my mother exclaimed, "Go Karen," quite loudly. I just stared at the church doors, through which the new couple had just vanished. No doubt they'd go back to her farm and talk about me, how I messed up, how I let him go, how I lost to her and was being sour about it. And then their talking would turn to something more physical and I had to try not to think about what that farmer was doing to the man I loved. When I had switched the microphone off and sat down, I whispered to myself:

_"That was for you, Rick..."_

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**Authors note: **

**Do you likey? Well if you did like it, please review, I wanna see whether I'm any good at song fics.**


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